LIFE’S INSPIRATIONS: “…Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they carry it out because it is in their power to do it…” (Micah 2:1, the Holy Bible).

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94 YEAR-OLD GRANDMA HAD HER SON KILLED BECAUSE OF PROPERTY DISPUTE? THIS IS NO LONGER NEW: She may not have confessed that she was the one who masterminded the killing of her own son on account of their land dispute, but the Philippine National Police at Dapitan, Zamboanga Del Norte arrested 94-year old Flaviana Sagapsapan just the same, to hold her liable for her kin’s gruesome murder. Police claimed that Flaviana paid two gun-for-hire killers to carry out her son’s killing.

Horrific? Oh yes, of course, dear readers of this column, but, if the truth be told, this phenomenon of family members fatally feuding with one another—father against son, mother against daughter—was prophesied to happen much earlier by the Lord Jesus, our God and Savior who is God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Jesus said in Luke 12:51, “Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided…” Earthshaking? Yes, it is, but what Jesus was actually referring to as the division within families pertains to the dispute between those who believe and have faith in Him as against those who no longer believe in God and who no longer listen to, nor obey His Word.

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FULFILLMENT OF GOD’S PROMISE THAT HE WILL COME TO EARTH IN THE FORM OF MAN: To those who are seriously studying the Word of God, the Bible, they will not fail to realize that God’s promise for Him to come down to earth to accept the punishment for the sins of man has already taken place, and a clear account of this could be found in the Bible itself, in its Matthew 1:18-25. According to Matthew 1, the virgin woman, Mary, gave birth to Jesus in fulfillment of the promise that was coursed through the prophet Isaiah.

This is what Matthew 1 says: “(The virgin) will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet…”

If we read Matthew 1 side by side with John 1:14, we will readily realize that the baby boy who was given the name Jesus was God Himself, who incarnated as a human being, assuming the form of man with flesh and blood, and lived with and among the Israelites. There should therefore be no doubt that Jesus is the

Name of God who came down from heaven.

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DUTERTE MUST CLARIFY STAND ON FEDERALISM ASAP: We are suspending, in the meantime, our discussions in this column on the proposed Federal Constitution. The reason is that, the criticisms against Federalism that have been coming from ranking members of the Cabinet of the Duterte government no less were so mercilessly shattering that many, including the group that prepared the draft Constitution, are now thinking that the President is no longer interested in its passage.

The perception is that, if President Duterte is still interested on changing our country’s form of government from purely presidential to federal, no contrary declarations should ever come, or be allowed, from his finance secretary, Sonny Dominguez and from his economic affairs secretary, Ernesto Pernia. Unfortunately (and yes, inexplicably), Dominguez had even claimed that the economy would crash if the proposed federal system pushes through.

At this point, I share the anxiety of those who are clamoring for the President to unequivocably declare his position—is federalism still okay with him, or he has had a change of heart?

Indeed, our country already spent quite a huge sum for the committee that the President himself created for the purpose of drafting a new charter. This amount faces the prospect of simply being wasted, largely because of the President’s men trashing the proposed charter just like that!

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FOR QUESTIONS, REACTIONS: If anyone would like to ask me any question about what the burning issues of the day mean, or what we have discussed here, or to consult on any problem, whatever it may be, please call 0917 984 24 68, or email me at batasmauricio@yahoo.com or post your concerns at www.facebook.com/attybatas. Promise, I will answer right away. Thank God in the Name of Jesus, Amen!